Alarik Arenander

I first saw Alarik on a video. I was on my TM teacher training course in Vittell, France, in 1974, We watched a number of videos of scientists interacting with Maharishi. One of the scientists was a quite young-looking man. He did not have the name recognition as some of the other scientists. But he had a fascinating name: Alarik Arenander. The best questions and sharpest observations seemed to come from him. Who is this guy? I wondered.

I never dreamed he would become such a close friend. The better I got to know him, the more impressed I became. He’s a blazing beacon of braininess and bliss. He’s a teacher, a scientist, a beekeeper, a gardener, a chef. He’s always helping people, giving people gifts, sharing great ideas. He’s a Powerpoint prodigy. He’s a fast talker. He’s an effusion of energy.

He’s an entrepreneur. He and Cynthia created a successful company featuring “Dr. Arenander’s Holistic Health Formulas,” for the brain, mouth and teeth and gums, hair and skin, many based on Cynthia’s cognitions.

He learned Transcendental Meditation in 1970 and became a teacher the next year, in Majorca. He worked directly with Maharishi in the 1970s. Along with Dr. Cynthia, he became a founding faculty of MERU (Maharishi European Research University), in Switzerland. There he worked with Dr. Paul Levine to produce the first EEG coherence research.

He was a founding faculty member in MIU’s first PhD program, the Neuroscience of Human Consciousness. He was the first in the world to offer the 16-lesson Maharishi AyurVeda courses — Diet  & Digestion, Maharishi Yoga Asanas, etc., in San Diego. He was the first to teach a course on Dr. Tony Nader’s research, “Human Physiology: Expression of Veda and Vedic Literature” — 48-lesson course he created. He created some of the first online courses for MERU: “Youthful Brain,” “Human Physiology: Expression of Veda and Vedic Literature,” “Presenting the Model of Vedic Physiology; Development of Human Potential.”

He and Cynthia spent years traveling around world on behalf of Dr. Nader and Raja Luis, creating groups of Yogic Flyers to create collective coherence and peace.

Alarik holds a PhD in Anatomy and Neuroscience from UCLA and has conducted research in cell differentiation and brain development, DNA regulation of brain function, child cognitive development, addiction, aging and Alzheimer’s disease, EEG mechanics and consciousness, and Veda and Vedic literature.

And he’s a total joy to know and be with.

ALARIK

PREAMBLE
What does EEG stand for?
Exceptionally Enlightened Genius
Evolutionary, Exemplary, & Great
Excellent, Estimable Giant
Engaging, Eager, & Generous
Entrepreneurial, Enterprising Go-getter
Entertaining & Effervescent Gardener
Eloquent, Ecstatic, & Grand

Let’s talk about Alarik’s brain . . .
Is there anything it doesn’t contain?

The answer: Not much
It’s capacity is such

That no one’s been heard to complain

His brain has two lobes, left and right
They’re the usual length, width, and height

Frontal, occipital —
The size is quite typical . . .

So — what makes him so brainy and bright?

Perhaps it’s the prefrontal cortex . . .
A very voluminous vortex? . . .

(Here comes a curious
Thought that’s quite spurious:

Why am I thinking of Gore-Tex?)

What reason, then, might we divine
That gives to his brain such a shine?

Perhaps his amygdala
Is unusually big-dala?

No — it’s like yours and mine

What can we say about his?
About his brain function, that is?

What’s happening there
Beneath that great hair

That makes him this wonderful whiz?

Now we can confidently state
The answer you yearningly await

We’re given the clearance
To say . . . it’s coherence

Coherence that makes the man great

Coherence among all the parts
Coherence between mind and heart

And if you need proof
He waves, and then — poof!

You’re buried in graphs and in charts

And there’s this about Alarik’s brain —
It’s free of all stress and all strain

From each furrow and fold
Shines a light of pure gold —

And transcend is his constant refrain

Energy? He sprints circles around us
His stamina tends to astound us

This established non-stopper
High hopper, cash cropper —

In the Self he will ceaselessly ground us

His speech goes a mile a minute
And look at how much he loads in it

How densely he packs
The research, the facts —

It’s pure knowledge, however you spin it

Powerpoints — the man is sensational
He’s an artist — supremely creational

The colors, the bars,
The arrows, the stars —

Informational and inspirational

He’s author of numerous papers
Reflecting his white-coated capers

Showing the reality
Of experiencing totality —

Heaven on earth? He’s a shaper

He’s established, we’d say, in the main
And what beautiful boons we obtain

Nature supports him —
In fact, nature courts him —

The man’s an unstoppable train

And look what pure Being becomes
With Cynthia, his choicest of chums —

They’re running a business
Infused with pure Is-ness

To care for our teeth and our gums!

Swish with their oils each day
Brush with their frankincensed clay —

Use what they’ve made you —
You’ll smile like they do

And keep dental problems at bay

His doctorate’s in culinary arts —
Through our palates he nourishes our hearts

A blender of flavors
That everyone savors —

Alarik’s got all the right smarts

He’s out on his porch steps to meet you
He’s blowing his conches to greet you

Wearing shirts that are Hawaiian
(Which he’s constantly buyin’) —

At a sumptuous spread he will seat you

Alarik — such dazzling deeds
Alarik — the one name he needs

Alarik — the great
And Alarik can’t wait

As onward to Brahman he speeds

Alarik — the glorious gardener
Alarik — the at-work-in-the-yardener

The water-the-rooter
The enjoyer-the-fruiter —

And his working is easier, not hard-ener

Alarik — the keeper of bees
Alarik — the tender of trees

Alarik — pure friendliness
Without any end-liness —

He’s the Self in whatever he sees

Alarik — we have to say this:
He’s a generous sharer of bliss

What can you do about it?
I’ll give you a clue about it —

Go give him a hug and a kiss

His chariot’s gear: hyperdrive
His physiological Devatas thrive

They lend luminosity
To his vibrant velocity —
He’s evolving full throttle,
Brahm in a bottle —

He’s awake and alert and alive

He’s radiant, silver-haired Ved
In his presence all fear is allayed

He’s totally nourishing
Flowering, flourishing —

Alarik — we’re made in the shade

So happy birthday to Alarik Arenander
There’s no one who quite can compare-enander

We conclude, as we’ve ruminated —
You’re enlightened, illuminated . . .

It’s thrilling to know that you’re there-enander

Happy Birthday, Alarik!

JUNE 2, 2012